Every operating electrical and electronic device emits electromagnetic radiation (EMR). The power of this emission varies depending on the size and electrical strength of the device and the electrical current it carries. High voltage power lines are significant emitters, and their field strength is sufficiently high to cause adverse effects on humans, animals and plants even hundreds of feet away. Smaller devices, such as computers, television sets, cellular phones and microwaves, emit lesser quantities of EMR, but the effect on humans can still be significant because people are in much closer proximity to such devices.
Adverse effects on the health of humans that have been reported as attributable to long-term EMR exposure include occurrence of certain cancers, multiple sclerosis, headache, and sleep disruption, impairment of short term memory, autism, and significant increases in the frequency of seizures in epileptic children. Reported adverse effects on animals have included stillbirths of young and reduction of milk production in cattle.
Although the effects of electromagnetic radiation on human health are not always easily quantifiable it is the desire of many prudent people to eliminate or reduce their exposure to EMR. There exist various methods of protecting from EMR that rely on reducing the magnitude (or strength) of the radiation that enters human body. Most commonly these utilize some sort of protective shield that enclosures the emitting apparatus hereby reducing the energy that is radiated by the EMR emitting device. Alternative approach is disclosed by Smirnov (U.S. Pat. No. 6,369,399), which describes an EMR shielding material that is composed of an electromagnetic radiation optimum neutralized polymer (MRET-Shield). MRET-Shield material does not reduce the power of electromagnetic fields. It “shields” the cellular structures of the body against the harmful biological effects of EMR. The radiation is still entering the body but the neutralizing effect of MRET-Shield material reduces the adverse effects associated with exposure. However, MRET-Shield required the design of a protective shell that encloses the EMR emitting device. While personal communications devices, such as cell phone or Blackberry, can be easily adapted to fit into such protective shell as a part of their design, enclosing larger electric appliances (inter alia personal computers, game consoles) is often impractical. Further, replacement of current EMR sources such as power lines would be cost prohibitive. Therefore, there remains a need to protect against EMR emitted from devices that do not provide a protective shell.